Not Too Late
by Shorty808
Summary: Someone's addicted to the power. But it's not who you expect.
1. Chapter 1

**Not Too Late**

A/N : Alright, I definitely don't own any of the characters in this. If I did, do you think I would be writing fanfiction:P

Story is inspired by "Never Too Late" by Three Days Grace.

He looked at himself in the mirror, his hands on either side of the sink, holding himself up. He was panting for breath, his hair a mess and his skin pale. He had slept for almost 12 hours and now that he was awake it was back. The desire to use in full force hit him like a freight train.

He growled at himself in the mirror. He was weak. He had let himself get addicted to using and now he couldn't seem to kick the habit. The voice inside his head was nagging at him.

_You'll feel so much better if you use. Just a little bit. No one will ever notice._

The voice was only partially right. He would feel better if he used. But someone would notice. His best friend would notice. It was hard not to notice when your room mate woke in the middle of the night, shaking and sweating from withdrawal, babbling incoherently.

He was trying to be strong. He didn't want to be addicted, not to using. He was supposed to be the strong one of them. The voice of reason, his friends called him. He called himself weak.

In that moment of weakness, he reached for the razor blade on the side of the sink. He watched the blood pool to the surface, watched it drip into the sink, as if with the blood the addiction would leave as well.

There was a brief knock on the door before it opened and his room mate strolled in.

"What are you doing?"

He didn't answer, his eyes firmly locked on the blood at his wrist.

"Shit man, you're bleeding."

His room mate grabbed some bandages, and pulled him back into the other room. He watched as his room mate worked carefully at his wrist. He appeared to be deep in thought as he did this.

"Being addicted doesn't give you the right to do this."

The words shocked him, and his eyes narrowed as he glared at his room mate. "You think you know everything."

"I know that it'll be alright if you quit being a pansy about this and ask for help." his room mate countered.

The glare was still firmly in place as he scoffed. "What do you know about addiction?"

"It's going to kill you." replied his room mate, bluntly.

"Not if I do it first." He stood and began to make his way back to the bathroom, tugging at the bandages on his wrists.

_If I do this, the pain will stop. The addiction will stop. No more waking up in the middle of the night with cold sweats and withdrawal pain. No more waking up period._

A hand on his shoulder spun him around. "That's the wrong answer and you know it. It's not too late. There are still a few weeks before your birthday."

He shook his head, sadly at his best friend and brother. "It is too late. The minute I ascend is the minute I'll die. You know it's true."

"Not if you fight it. You just need to let me and the boys help you. If I can beat it, so can you Baby Boy. I was more far gone than you are."

Tyler looked shocked. Almost as if he had forgotten that a few months ago the tables had been reversed. That Reid had been the one in the bathroom at night, trying to end his life, and he, Tyler had been the one trying to talk him out of it.

Tyler appeared to be thinking about what Reid had just said. He nodded slightly and a hand darted up to brush the tears out of his eyes.

"Okay. Call Pogue and Caleb."

He could see the relief in Reid's eyes, as he agreed.

_Not too late. If Reid can beat it, I sure as hell can._


	2. Chapter 2

Pogue was the first to arrive at their dorm. He was calm, but his eyes gave away the concern he felt for his brothers. Reid had called him, so he knew right away something was wrong. He had done well over the speed limit to get to his brothers as fast as he could.

Reid opened the door for him but was back by Tyler's side before Pogue had even entered the room.

Tyler was seated on the floor by the window, his arms wrapped tightly around his knees. His head was down and every once in a while he would shake his head, like he was berating himself.

"What's going on, guys? You look like someone just kicked your dog."

Reid glared at him, but Tyler didn't even look up.

"This was a bad idea, Reid." said Tyler, in a very depressed tone, picking at his wrist.

"They'll scar if you continue to do that." replied Reid, gesturing to his wrist.

Pogue was definitely getting worried. Reid was being the sensible one? What the hell was going on?

"Alright, what's going on?"

The younger boys hesitated and looked at one another. Tyler looked like he was about to be sick. Reid looked worried.

"Maybe we should wait until Caleb gets here?" Reid let the question hang in the air.

"Tell Pogue first. He'll be able to keep Caleb from killing me."

"Enough of this. Tell me what the hell is going on, right now, or I'll kill you both." said Pogue, fiercely.

Reid stood and glared at one of his older brothers. He had that defiant look in his eyes, the one that clearly stated "Back the hell off me and Baby Boy."

And it was then that Pogue realized how familiar this situation was.

--_ Flashback--_

_Reid was curled up on the floor by the window, rocking himself back and forth. He was concentrating on calming his nerves and trying not to use. Tyler had been sitting next to him, had been trying to comfort him when Pogue had entered._

_He had known right away that Reid was addicted. Everything about Reid was screaming withdrawal right now, and honestly it wasn't a surprise. They had all expected this._

"_Christ. I knew it." cursed Pogue, sitting down on one of the beds._

_Tyler was up in an instant, standing in front of Reid, his stance protective. "If you're going to yell at him and not help then you can leave. Now."_

_-- End Flashback-- _

"Fuck, Tyler." Pogue was back to cursing as he looked at his youngest brother. The one they had all tried to protect but never noticed was sinking into addiction.

Tyler just shook his head some more, ashamed of himself for letting it come down to this. Ashamed of becoming addicted.

"If you're not going to help you can get the hell out of my room. That goes for our oh – so – fearless leader too." said Reid.


	3. Chapter 3

Tyler had never felt more ashamed in his life. The look alone from Caleb had made him want to crawl into a hole and die. It was a look of severe disappointment. A look that clearly said "I never ever thought that you of all people..."

Pogue was more shocked than anything else. When he had arrived at the dorm he had expected blood shed, sickness or even God Forbid, Chase. The thought that Tyler had become addicted to using had never even occurred to him.

And then there was Reid. The one who had previously been addicted and fought it. Reid couldn't say that he was surprised. Having roomed with Tyler for four years, he had seen it start, though he had taken no notice of it. Decided that until Tyler came to him, he wouldn't be Caleb and bug the hell out of him about it.

Now the day was here. Caleb and Pogue now knew about their friend. It was like a division straight down the middle of their group. The recovering addicts, because the urge to use would constantly be there, and the others.

Tyler was still slumped on the floor by the window. His body had started to shake just before Caleb had arrived, having decided that it wasn't going to get its fix. At least not yet anyway.

Caleb sat on the bed, face in his hands. He was disappointed, yeah, but he was more worried. This was Tyler, Baby Boy. If anything ever happened to him,... well he didn't like to think about it. But all of his friends looked determined, and Reid looked like he was preparing to throw Caleb out of the room if he didn't comply.

"Alright. Let's get you back in bed, Ty."

Tyler was amazed. They were going to help him. And helping him meant doing the exact same thing they had done with Reid when he was fighting.

He was prepared for what was to come, but that didn't mean he was scared shit less. He had seen what had happened to Reid. The shakes were first, which he already had. Then came the anger at everything, which was followed by pain and then he would ascend.

Pogue helped him into a standing position and pointed to the bed. "You look like shit. Go to sleep."

Tyler could still roll his eyes. "Thanks for the ego boost."

"I'll give ya an ego boost." joked Pogue, firmly pulling the blankets up around his little brother, making it so that he couldn't move.

Reid had already crawled into his bed and chucked a few pillows to the floor before leaning back. "Blankets are in the closet."

Caleb rolled his eyes. "You'll make a great host Reid."

Tyler snorted. "Or he'll just have me over to host them."

_Making Tyler think about the future, _check.

_Shakes_, check.

The boys settled themselves on the floor. Caleb was by the door that led out of the dorm and Pogue was by the bathroom door. If Tyler decided to get up for any reason he would undoubtedly wake up one of the other boys while trying to get there.

If there was a repeat of earlier, Pogue would know it.

Although now that Tyler had told his brothers he was pretty sure that the odds of a repeat performance was slim to none.


	4. Chapter 4

"Get the _fuck_ out of my way right _fucking_ now, Sarah." growled Tyler.

They were standing in the middle of the hallway between classes. If Sarah was scared, she certainly wasn't showing it. And the thing was, she wasn't scared. She had been there through Reid's addiction and, well... Reid was worse than Baby Boy by far.

Though this was the first time she had ever heard him say the word 'fuck'.

Her feet were firmly planted on the ground as she stood in front of him. Her face was drawn into a look of defiance. "No."

"Sarah, I mean it. _Move._"

His fists were clenched at his sides and he was visibly shaking. Sarah didn't know if that was from his anger or the withdrawal. She hoped it was the latter.

"No Tyler. You need to calm down right now and then I'll let you by." Her voice was calm and strong. She was being strong for Tyler because if he got by her...

"_God fucking damnit Sarah!_ Move!"

Tyler was channeling his inner Reid now. And in some far off place in his head, he knew he shouldn't be yelling at Sarah. She was only trying to help him and that shouldn't make him pissed off but it was.

_Phase 2: Anger_

She was still standing there in front of him, her hands on her hips.

"Not until you calm down. You want me to get Caleb and Pogue? How about Reid? One phone call and they're in my place. You'll have three people standing here instead of me." yelled Sarah.

A crowd was beginning to form around them in the hallway. This was hot news. Tyler Simms and Sarah Wenham going at it in the hallway? Better yet, Tyler Simms actually raising his voice and swearing? This was cause for a school assembly!

"_Fuck you Sarah."_ spat Tyler, but the second the words were out of his mouth he regretted them.

Sarah was shocked. Yeah, Tyler had been swearing at her for the past ten minutes, but this? Never in her entire life had she expected those words to come out of his mouth. But she pushed the shock away, marched right up to him and stuck her face in his.

"I'm trying to help you. Why can't you just let me?" she whispered.

_She has a calming voice_, thought Tyler. He couldn't even remember what had caused his anger a few minutes ago. He paled when he remembered the words he had yelled at her.

"Sarah, I..." He couldn't even voice how sorry he was. So he just awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the floor.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a hug. "No worries, Ty."

When they broke apart, they noticed that they had an audience.

"Nothing to see here people. Geez, don't you have class?" Sarah rolled her eyes as she hooked her arm with Tyler's.

They made their way down the hall and around a corner when they spotted the others. Caleb and Reid were all breathing hard when they got to the couple.

"Why were you running?" asked Sarah, curiously as she left Tyler for Caleb's side.

"Someone... said... that... you... and Baby Boy were fighting in the hall." said Caleb, catching his breath.

"Well uh,..." started Tyler, but Sarah interrupted him.

"He just needed to let off a little steam. He's buying lunch though." replied Sarah with a sly grin in his direction.

Reid clapped Tyler on the shoulder, trying to hold in his laughter. "Even I only had to buy _her_ lunch when I yelled at her. And I tried to seduce her too."

Tyler shrugged. "She deserves more than one lunch for letting me go off like I did..."

Caleb hated being out of the loop. He had no idea what had happened other than Tyler had apparently blown up at her. Sarah shot him a look and he relaxed. She'd tell him later.

"Cmon Baby Boy. I'm hungry." said Sarah, a Cheshire grin on her face as she took off running down the hall.

Tyler wasted no time in chasing after her, intent on making her pay for calling him Baby Boy. God, he hated that name.

"You know, I don't know about that girl, man." said Reid with a smirk.

Caleb grinned as they walked after them. "I do. That girl can take anything."

Reid's grin got larger and just when he was about to make a smart ass comment, Caleb slapped him upside the head.

"Don't even."

_Stage 2: Anger Complete_


	5. Chapter 5

Tyler was brutally pushing people out of his way as he made his way to the bathroom. He had an itch he was dying to scratch. Now if only he could make it to the bathroom without running into any of the boys, or Sarah he would be safe. He knew that they would sense that he was using and be there a few minutes afterwards, but he just needed _something_. Just a little something to get him through this day.

He slipped into the room quietly, noted that there were a few boys milling around, and made his way into the last stall in the room. He dropped his bag on the floor and let his eyes flood black, hovering a few feet off the ground. He prayed that no one would notice.

And as soon as his feet touched the ground, he knew what a big mistake he had made. He had done so well these last few weeks. He had fought the urge to use, with the help of his friends. He had that horrible burning sensation deep in the pit of his stomach. He had only had it once before.

When he had realized he was addicted. That night in the bathroom, when Reid had found him.

But he had gotten rid of it. The razor blade had taken that feeling away. The _pain_ of the cut had made him lose all interest in his stomach.

Hastily he grabbed his bag and bolted from the boys bathroom. He needed to get back to the dorms and he needed to do it NOW. The razor blade was still by the sink, he was sure. Now if he could just get to it.

He was once again pushing people out of his way, knocking one girl to the ground. He didn't pause, didn't even mutter an apology, highly unusual for Tyler Simms. And soon enough he was in the tiny bathroom in his dorm, standing in front of the mirror.

The blade was where he had thought it would be. Reid and the others hadn't bothered to remove it after that first night, which he supposed he should be happy about.

But his thoughts were jumbled, and all he could think about was getting rid of that feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't realize that he had cut himself until he saw the blood. He was mesmerized by it, even though he had seen it many times before.

A knock at the door brought him out of his world.

"Ty? You in there?" called Kate, through the door.

He looked around, decided there was nothing to really hide his cut with and simply pulled his sleeve down over it. He opened the door to his dorm and found Kate leaning against the door frame with a "look" on her face.

"You owe me an apology, Mr. Simms." said Kate, sternly. She pushed by him and entered the dorm.

He looked confused. "I do? For what?"

Her eyes narrowed at him. "You remember. Me, walking down the hall. You come storming down the hall and knock me ass over tea kettle?"

"That was you? God, I'm sorry Kate. I was in a hurry and..."

Kate's angry look had turned to one of concern. She wasn't looking at his face anymore, but more specifically at his hand which seemed to have blood running down it. She pushed him to sit on his bed and went to get some bandages.

When she came back, he was once again fascinated by the blood on his wrist.

"You could have at least done something productive, Ty. Given your blood to a blood drive, gotten a tattoo for crying out loud!" she said as she bandaged his wrist.

It occurred to him later that he should never have agreed to meet Reid anywhere, when he knew damn well the kid had no car to get anywhere.

Currently, he was in a tattoo parlor, sitting in a chair.

Yup, Tyler Simms was getting a tattoo. And it was all Kate and Reid's fault.

_-- Flashback--_

_He strolled into the tattoo parlor where Reid had said to meet him. He was still in his school uniform and looked completely out of place. A girl was sitting behind a counter, casually flipping through a magazine._

"_Hi, I'm looking for Reid Garwin. Do you know if he's here?" asked Tyler, politely._

_She smiled at him and consulted her book. "I don't have Reid down on the list for today. What's your name, hun?"_

"_Tyler." He responded, looking slightly confused. What the hell was Reid up to?_

"_Ooh! I may not have Reid, but I do have a Tyler on the list. Simms, right?"_

"_Yeah. Wait, what? My name's on that list to get a tattoo? I'm going to kill him." growled Tyler._

_She smirked. "That could be entertaining. Anyway, do you want to at least see what he's got picked out?"_

_She slid a piece of paper across the counter to him. The drawing on it was very well done. It was of a pentagram. At each point of the star was an initial, one to represent all five families of the Covenant. There was a "D" at the top, followed by two "P"s and lower down a "G" and an "S". _

"_I take it you like it then?" asked the girl._

"_Yeah, it's.. wow. Did you draw this?"_

"_Sure did. A few months ago, when Reid got it." She was pulling him into the back room now, but he took no notice of it._

"_Reid's got it? Where is it?" asked Tyler, curiously, now he was sitting on the table._

"_Right here." she said, pointing to his chest, above his heart. "Where do you want yours?"_

"_Oh um.. same spot I guess." replied Tyler._

"_Works for me. Shirt off."_

_He complied and took off his uniform shirt. _

"_You boys and those abs. You on the swim team too?" she asked, wiping down the spot to disinfect it._

"_Yeah. Is this going to hurt?" he asked, slightly nervous._

_She grinned. "Only a little bit. Reid said you could handle it though. Something about being well prepped." Her smile faded. "You're not going to look down my shirt the entire time are you? Reid mentioned something about being at the perfect angle." she said suspiciously._

"_Of course not."_

_--End Flashback--_

And that was how he ended up getting a tattoo. Kate must have mentioned his slip earlier in the day to Reid, and of course, Reid being Reid, decided that the pain of a new tattoo would be enough for him.

Who knew that Reid could be so smart?


	6. Chapter 6

The weeks since he had first told the boys about his addiction had gone by fast. It seemed like only last night when Reid had caught him in the bathroom, trying to end his life.

Tonight was the night. At 10:18pm, an hour away, he would ascend. His life would be forever changed. He just hoped it was for the best.

It had been decided that they would all be present, even Sarah and Kate. The girls had been there for him the past few weeks. They were his grounders. The more grounders he had when he ascended the better chance he had to live... At least that was what everyone was thinking.

Right now they were at Nicky's, enjoying themselves. They were all playing pool, and had been hogging one of the tables for the last two hours. It was a good way to relax, and soon they had all settled into a rhythm, laughing and joking around.

Only when Sarah and Kate shared a look, did Tyler remember the fact that he was ascending tonight. He could tell that all of his friends were preparing for the worst, and praying for the best. It had been the same thing he had been doing for Reid's ascension.

Twenty minutes before he was about to ascend, they left the table and headed to the door.

By sure luck, of course, Aaron Abbott decided at that moment to push Tyler roughly, knocking him to the floor.

A collective gasp went through the crowd who were watching the scene. It was common knowledge that you did not do anything to the Sons of Ipswich, most especially the youngest in front of the older ones. Duh!

Sarah and Kate were very worried. Tyler was horribly nervous about his ascension and now with this... the kid might snap. It was bad. Tyler had been doing so well and it would be just like Aaron to ruin something he had worked so hard for.

But as Tyler stood, they realized they had been worried for no reason. His eyes were baby blue as he snarled at Aaron, and cocked his fist back to punch him in the face.

And then they all bolted. They had ten minutes before Tyler ascended. Which meant they had ten minutes to get out to the Colony House.

They made it there with two minutes to spare.

Tyler was antsy, very antsy. Literally shaking in his shoes.

_God I was so stupid. Let Kate and Sarah come to watch me die? What a great idea, Tyler! Scar all of your friends for life by dying in front of them! Genius plan._ He thought , angrily to himself.

"Maybe you guys shou --" He started, but was cut off very abruptly.

By the lightning that hit his chest and gave him his full powers.

He had never been in such pain before, not when he broke his leg, or tried to kill himself or even that damn tattoo that he had been talked into. Nothing had ever hurt as much as this.

_But you can take that pain away. Just use. Use and you'll feel better than you ever have before._ Whispered that stupid little voice in his head.

But unlike before, Tyler talked back. _The pain isn't that bad, nice try. _He snorted mentally at the voice in his head. _You're real seductive._

He opened his eyes to find himself on the ground out front of the colony house. Sarah was behind him, brushing the hair out of his eyes, while the others stood around him.

"Geez Baby Boy, could you be more dramatic?" asked Pogue, flicking him in the forehead.

Tyler sat up, rubbing gently at his forehead. "That hurt. Guess it means I survived, eh?"

It was at that point that Kate launched herself at him, and he was squished between her and Sarah. They were both so relieved that he was alive, they couldn't help but hug him.

"Girls? I think you're going to strangle him." said Caleb, clearly amused.

They both let go, and blushed furiously.

"Come on. Let's go have some fun. Ty's 18 now!" said Kate.

"Yeah, man. We can take him to a strip club now." said Reid, shooting his best friend a smirk.

Sarah slapped him upside the head. "No. And before you even say it, Kate and I will not give him a lapdance instead!"

"Hey!"

They proceeded to make their way back to the car. Reid was walking next to Tyler, just in case he fell. He hadn't been able to even move after his ascension and walking had been hell so he was cautiously making sure his friend didn't go ass over tea kettle.

Sure enough, Ty stumbled over a twig. Reid caught his arm and held him steady.

"Told you it wasn't too late, Baby Boy."


End file.
